A new Plymouth ice rink is being built this year is it not? Basingstoke rink management released the survey, it was done at the start of this year, and said the rink has 12-18 months left. They haven’t even agreed on a site for a temporary rink, which will take a year to erect. The new leisure park is ten+ years away, with no decision on whether or not to include a rink, just vacuous politicians statements. It looks like it will be a shopping ‘village’.
I feel your pain, Leif...
The new Plymouth rink was supposed to open at the end of 2018. It didn't. Nothing had even started. And then the big boards with the plans, etc, on them quietly disappeared. When questioned, one of the staff at the current rink told me that apparently there had been a change in plans and they'd had to be resubmitted for Planning Permission. When I asked a more senior member of staff a few weeks ago, she said that they'd been told that "the new rink is to be finished in time for the Mayflower 400 celebrations next year". Now, as these actually start in November 2019, ie this year, and finished in November 2020, I'm suspecting that it'll be nearer the latter date, if it happens at all. I'm afraid I have very little faith in anything to do with that rink. Or with the provision of new rinks to replace old ones in general, as both Southampton and Richmond rinks were to have replacements and neither were built. There was a covenant on the land on which the old Southampton rink was built which stated that if it was pulled down, the land could only be used for residential development if another rink was built within the city. The old rink was closed in 1988 and the skating club are still fighting to get a new one. I remember seeing the plans for the housing that was to be built in place of the old Richmond rink and for the new rink to be built somewhere in Richmond Park (from what I recall, anyway) but that never happened either. Lots of housing, no rink. Now, the company who want to redevelop the Pavilions site, where the current rink is in Plymouth, have been told that they can't do anything until they've built another rink. The current rink is not in a good state and the ice is frequently dangerously rutted but they "can't do a proper resurface because the ice level is too thick" or the resurfacing machine is broken or a myriad other "reasons". There are no changing facilities, no cafe, everything is run down and worn out. Last year we were forever skating around a big upturned waste bin covering a large hole in the ice (the rain would pour in an melt it). It's not good. Most of the staff are absolutely lovely but it's still not a good rink. And attendance suffers accordingly. If there was anywhere else to skate, I wouldn't bother with it. In the winter, I skate at Eden on the temporary rink as much as I can.